Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Am I alone in dreading a visit to the parking shop in Wood Green. It's easier (and pleasanter) to borrow money from a bank than buy a permit to park outside my own house!

Tags for Forum Posts: oyster, parking, parking charges

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I've looked at the Westminster scheme and wonder a)what do you do if you don't have a smart phone, or b) are out of credit/battery, which happens to us all? Also, I think you still have to estminate in advance how long you will need - far better to pay at the end based on how long you have actually parked. (within an overall time-limit, naturally).

Couldn't the Oyster technology itself be adapated - it's already widespreadl over London anyway? Part of the problem seems to be individual councils having control over something that should be a city-wide issue, part of "integrated" transport for London. You then get particularly agressive councils like Islington, who have all-day resident parking on every street in the borough; many streets are virtually empty of parked cars all day and if you do need to park it's difficult and expensive. Others, like Camden who target parking restrictions to limit all-day commuter parking (say 10-12 a.m) but then allow other people to use the parking spaces in between - a more sensible balance, I think.

It used to be simple to park in London because the rules were the same everywhere, but now you can be in one borough's rules on one side of the street and another's when you cross over, you have to be so careful not to make a mistake. I have never had a parking ticket through wilfully refusing to pay - but once or twice a year, no matter how hard I try, I make a stupid error that costs me the same as a week's grocery shopping. It just seems to be an extra tax that you have to bear.
how many people - or drivers in this case - have the schmnacy new phones with all their i-apps and androiding? Not the majority i guess. I dont, surprise.
Currently about 20%, but it's estimated that in two years the figure will be 70%. Remember how recent it was that people were as sceptical about internet shopping Pam.
Just a basic phone works in Westminster. If your battery / credit is exhausted, you can use any landline phone.

What's in it for the right-wing councils? Resident and voter satisfaction :-)
We use that down in Dorset (Ringwood and Bournemouth both have carparks on the scheme) via a company who you phone from your mobile with the carpark's individual number and your car registration number. You register your card and name and then the next time you ring they know who you are from your mobile number and it takes the hassle out. The ones I've used are NCP, but Bournemouth Council seem to be doing it for the carparks that they run.
Haven't used it much as there aren't that many carparks who use it near here, but really has helped when there's no change in my purse and I'm in a hurry when out and about.
Might meet your needs in Harringay.
There have been improvements but the whole parking thing needs a radical rethink. It's overly bureacratic, expensive and as long as they continue to employ low paid parking patrol officers working on commission, there'll be a high volume of fines for minor things like the scratch being displayed upside down! (Wonder what the income is and how that is generated?) Just bought a new car, took along my usual documents (including the new log book) waited 45 minutes in a queue to find out that they needed to see my receipt for the car. Why do they need to know I paid for the car? I returned - at 4.50pm to avoid another long wait, only to find out they wanted £10 for admin(!) and a further £40 because they made an error with my last payment. They would not issue a permit without the £40 despite no-one being able to say what the error was. The manager told me they have a policy of not giving anything in writing - so receipt number aside I have nothing to say I paid an additional amount and what it was for. I maintained my cool because I don't think it was the tellers fault but I can see why people do get angry. Rant over...and the security guard is great!
The oyster card system is genius (although I'm amazed we have to pay, to pay to park outside our homes).
That sounds horribly like the parking shop of old. I can absolutely empathise with how you must have felt. I'd have been pretty damn annoyed to have been through that.

If you can be bothered, it sounds like it might worth a mail to the manager of the parking service, cc the responsible 'cabinet member' ( a quick call will give you the names) - that's unless Alan Stanton gets there first.
Thanks Hugh - I will follow through.
Perhaps Haringey has become less reliant on parking fines since 2004/5.

In 2006 a survey by Channel 4 News online discovered how some councils were handing out millions in parking fines on certain streets.

Top of the pile was Lordship Lane in the London Borough of Haringey - where a whopping total of £3,200,000 in parking tickets was issued in 2004/5. This is approximately the same amount of money the council spends on the department that publishes Haringey People, etc.

The vast number of tickets in Lordship Lane was created after the local authority introduced new bus lane regulations - and used cameras to police box junctions.
Parking income is not used to fund Haringey People, Paul. That would be illegal under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Allocation of surplus income is shown in the Annual Parking Reports. If you want further details I suggest you write and ask. I doubt that a single item is 'trivial' - unless you think such things as Road Safety fit this description.

The general point about bus lane enforcement is there's often a large income 'spike' when they start operating. Followed by a very sharp fall as drivers get the message and stay out of the lane. If income does not fall steeply, then the whole purpose of the bus lane - to speed-up the buses - has failed.
would be nice if we are able to buy a cheap local newspaper, magazine that was filled with news articles and local titbits that were actually real, interesting and local. Abit like a paper version of "Haringey Online". Contributions and articles written by residents with reviews etc about real issues and places by real people. If only....
But please consider, Saira, the reasons why you no longer need to pay for local freesheets. Where would professional reporters, graphic designers, investigative journalists, crossword compilers and so on, fit into your crowd-sourced publication written (for nothing?) by local residents?

I'm not in any way religious. But: "the workman is worthy of his hire" seems a sound principle to me.

Before Hugh jumps in to say this is all off-topic, can I point out the basic link. Our public streets are a community good and "common land". Which is why people challenge their rationing and renting. Knowledge and information are shared cultural goods.

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